Honolulu enters Q1 2026 with one of the tightest rental markets that Rental Beast tracks. Rents are up year-over-year, concessions have essentially vanished at just 1.6%, and the monthly cost of owning has converged almost completely with renting. This is a landlord-favorable market with very little renter leverage at the moment.
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Rents in Honolulu are moving upward across property types. One-bedrooms are up 5.3% year-over-year to $2,000, 2-bedrooms climbed 6% to $2,650, and 3-bedrooms rose 3% to $3,400. Single-family rentals are up 1.7% to $2,950, while multi-family units increased 8.7% to $2,500.
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Honolulu's concession rate collapsed from 18.5% in Q4 2025 to just 1.6% in Q1 2026, a 91.5% quarter-over-quarter drop. That is by far the steepest single-quarter concession decline of the markets Rental Beast tracks, and leaves Honolulu with effectively no incentive market to speak of. Renter clients should not expect landlords to negotiate on move-in costs in this environment.
Days on market held steady at 16 days, with single-family at 15 days and multi-family at 16. That is among the faster-moving markets we track and consistent with the near-absence of concessions. Listings are getting leased before landlords need to offer anything extra.
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Surveyed Honolulu's property managers provide a picture of stability:
The majority view is one of stability. Given the concession data and DOM, the market appears tighter in practice than sentiment alone might suggest.
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Honolulu is one of only two markets in our dataset where renting and buying have converged to near parity. The monthly cost of owning a median-priced home ($650,000 list price as of March 2026) comes to approximately $3,409 per month, compared to a 3-bedroom median rent of $3,400. That is a gap of just $9 per month in favor of renting, down from $85 in Q4 2025.
For clients who are anywhere close to purchase-ready, the financial case for continuing to rent in Honolulu is essentially gone.
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Calculations use Q1 2026 rents and a mortgage with 20% down, a 6.2% interest rate, taxes, and insurance to show the cost of renting versus buying.
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Rental data used in this report are sourced and catalogued directly by Rental Beast, unless otherwise noted. Rental Beast listing data covers a range of rental property types and owner types operating within the long-term rental market (generally considered to be leases with a minimum of three months). Single-family rentals are considered to be properties with 4 or fewer units. Multifamily is more than 4 doors. Unless otherwise noted, our analysis uses Urban Honolulu, HI as the geographical unit.
Rents are calculated based on these listings. Days on market (DOM) and concession analysis are based on these listings, with some data sources excluded due to DOM and concession info being unavailable or deemed to be unreliable. Concessions are incentives that entice renters to sign a lease (e.g., one month free, a gift card, etc.). Our sentiment survey is based on phone conversations during Q1 2026 with rental building and community managers and property managers. Questions and answer choices:
DISCLAIMER. This report attempts to provide reliable and useful information; however, there is no guarantee that the information or other content in this document is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. All content is subject to change without notice. All content is provided on an “as is” basis, with no warranties of any kind whatsoever. Rental data used in this report are sourced and catalogued directly by Rental Beast, unless otherwise noted. Our analysis uses MSA as the geographical unit and is not reflective of all-U.S. measures. Information from this document may be used with proper attribution.
©2026 by Rental Beast
